


Adventures In Gallowmere

by Slickster46



Series: Adventures in Gallowmere [1]
Category: MediEvil MediEvil:Resurrection
Genre: Gen, Playstation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-07 01:04:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3154985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slickster46/pseuds/Slickster46
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the weeks and months before the fateful battle of Gallowmere, Sir Daniel Fortesque found in himself in odd seemingly unrelated adventures and situations. From aquiring a new mysterious young handmaiden, to his peacful home being plauged by different supernatural creatures it was the interesting time of Sir Dan's short life. So Come and be regaled by the tales of Adventures in Gallowmere</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The King's Gift

It had been an exceptionally long day of training for dear old Daniel Fortesque. He was walking down the long country road that lead to his home. His raven hair glued to different parts of his face by the salt of dried sweat. Eyes weary from trying to aim at targets. He was so tired that when it was time for him to return home, he had forgotten to remove his knight's armor. The weight of which only tired him more. To be considered one of the finest knights in all of Gallowmere did have his draw backs. The king had been running him ragged with all his preparations for the battle for Gallowmere. But now as he came upon the comfort of his own home, he felt the tensions of the day ease off his shoulders.

The family home of Fortesque was tiny castle with a single tower a rundown barn and s smithy in the back part of the land. It had about a dozen rooms, most of them unoccupied due to the simple lack of the Fortesque family left in Gallowmere. 

But Daniel was happy to see his lonely little tower all the same. Slowly he made his way up the tower stairs to his room, his armor dragging him down with each step. He pulled open the door that lead to his room and entered the darkend chamber, letting the door close behind him.

"Welcome home, Sir Daniel." a voice said. He jumped back startled. A darkened figure was standing in his room. 

"Who's there!?" Dan called out. He now noticed that candles had been lit sparsely around the chamber. Effectively shadowing the intruder.

The figure stepped forward closer where Dan could see. It was a young lady dressed as chamber maid. She obviously wasn't from Gallowmere with her dark complexion, and almond shaped eyes. Her black hair was stuffed tightly under a bulging bonnet except for a few stray scraggly locks. Though she had said “welcome” nothing about her was welcoming. Her expression was agitated. Eyes slanted and narrowed. Her lips were pursed not just out of their natural orientation but in aggravation. Her wide nostrils flared with each breath she took. Everything about this girl was cold and stiff. She had a look in her eyes of someone who has killed, and could easily do so again.

"Who are you? An assassin?” 

The girl bowed, never answering the question. She then riffled and her robes for something. Found it. And then, started to approach startled Dan.

"I was sent by your king, along with this note." she said passing a sealed envelope on to Daniel.

He took it, keeping an eye on the mysterious girl. The letter had the king's wax seal, so he knew it was official. Dan opened the letter and read to himself.

_To the leader of my forces Sir Daniel Fortesque, I know these past few days of training have been very trying on you. But all shall be worth it when you strike down the terrible Zarok in battle. All the land shall sing your praises for generations. And should you survive your battle, you will live the remainder of your life wanting for nothing. In the meantime, to show you how much I appreciate your efforts, I have sent you a new young hand maiden. She's imported! And prepped to cook, clean, serve and whatever else you might need from her…_

Dan looked up briefly from his letter. Now he understood the reason this hand maid was young and attractive. He continued on reading.

_Far be it from me to judge what a young virile knight would want to do with a hand maiden, but just know she is trained in such a capacity. Please accept her as a token of my gratitude. Signed The King of Gallowmeir._

Dan felt the blood rush to his cheeks. Never in a thousand years would he have thought the king would send him such a “gift”. While he did need some sort of maid or servant to help take care of his estate, (something he may have mentioned around the king once or twice) he certainly didn’t want one with such a scandalous objective.

"Uh, madam...." Dan paused realizing he didn't even know the girl's name.

"Delilah." she bowed again.

"Right. Already a bad sign. How old are you?"

"How old would you like me to be?" she responded with a sigh.

"Alright." Dan said tossing the letter aside.

"Listen, Delilah, whatever other 'capacities' you've been trained to do outside of being a handmaiden will not be needed."

"Oh! Am I not you want? Then I shall go back to the king and he'll send you someone who can better meet your desires. Perhaps a man..."

"No,no,no I don't need my desires met. I just need someone who can clean up when I'm away, and cook for me when I'm home. Can you do that for me?" he asked with a friendly bucked tooth smile. 

Delilah's icy demaner seemed to change at the news she wouldn’t be employed for other elicit duties.

"Of course Sir Daniel." She bowed. Delilah was softened.

"Good! Then you'll make an excellent hand maiden. Now, would you be so kind to draw me a warm bath?"

“Um… You don’t want _me_ to bathe you, do you?” she asked hestitantly.

“Delilah, I thought we’ve come to an understanding here.”

"Yes of course. Just making sure. Right away Sir Daniel! Should I get started on your dinner after that?"

"Yes, that would be marvelous."

"I'll be right on it sir Daniel." With that she lept off to her duties.

Later that evening, after the ordeal of trying to get Dan out of his armor (a task that she in the end left up to Sir Daniel himself), Delilah had managed to successfully get Dan a nice warm tub of water for his bath.

"Sir Daniel, your bath is ready!" she called triumphantly.

Daniel strode in finally free of his armor. He was very lean in size, much to her surprise. Most knights Delilah had seen hanging around the king were quite large and buff, with the exception of that crossbow wielder. She'd assumed the same of Daniel while his armor was on given his height. She couldn't help but wonder how a man so gangly became the leader of the king's forces.

"Thank you, Delilah." he nodded.

"If that is all, you need of me, I'll be off to prepare dinner." she bowed. 

Dan dismissed her with a wave, happy for the privacy. He was eager to enjoy a warm soak to ease away the day's stress. Delilah however realized within a few steps she had no clue what Daniel wanted to eat. Whirling around sure she could make it back to the bathroom before he completely disrobed, she broke into a sort of half sprint, barging in through the bathroom door.

"Sir Daniel! I need to ask you..." 

At this point Daniel had already removed his tunic and was standing bare chested. Delilah had been quite wrong in her assumption once again. Daniel was no twig of a man. He was very well built indeed. With a strong chest, and well defined abs even rippling obliquus.

"Yes?" Daniel asked. He was slightly annoyed at the sudden intrusion.

"Huh?" Delilah said distracted.

"You said you had a question. Well get on with it!" he snapped. She blinked a few times snapping out of her stupor.

"Question! right! What would you like to eat tonight?"

"A simple stew or soup, will be fine." he said dismissing her again.

"Right! I'll just leave you to your bath then." she said slinking out.

Now it was her cheeks that were flushed red. 

“By the spear of Imanzi…” She exclaimed to herself.

"What a strange girl." Dan said as he continued to undress.


	2. Dinner with an Amazon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sir Dan decides it my be in his best interest to learn a bit more about the young hand maiden under his roof. Meanwhile an expected guest shows up to dinner under fear of a mysterious beast.

Delilah tried to push the image of Daniel out of her mind. Handsome men were the greatest threat to her people. In all of Rome and Egypt she had survived the temptation of handsome young warriors. This tiny warless island Gallowmere would not be where she fell. So she busied herself with task at hand. 

“Spirit of warrior queen Imanzi Shongama, grant me strength.” She prayed.

Before Daniel had come home, when she was left in his castle, Delilah made a point to formalize herself with the lay of the land. The kitchen and dining hall was at the bottom of the tower. Bellow that was the cellar that held the meat and wine. It was a dingy and dark place that wreeked of old wine and smoke. The walls were blacken by soot. No matter how many torches one could light down there, you’d still feel as though darkness was all around.

The meat hung cured from ropes attached to the celling. While barrels of wine and beers sat off to the side by the stairs.

She had learned quite a lot about Sir Dan simply from the meat he kept salted down stairs. There wasn’t an awful lot of it given that he lived by himself, but the meat he did keep was quite rare in this part of the world. 

“Beeves and pork.” She’d said to herself. “He even owns an oven.This is quite the nobleman I’m dealing with. A most well respected warrior.”

“How nice that must be for him.” She’d sneered.

But since meeting the kings apparently kindly champion, she figured she could be more agreeable. After all she had a long contract to fill.

“One simple tasteless Europian soup coming up.” She said grabbing a knife. She got to work cutting away at the meat.

Back upstairs, Sir Dan was finish up his bath.

“Ah, now this is just what the doctor ordered. I can’t remember the last time I had such a nice bath uninterrupted.” He said.

“The water was perfect. Not to hot or too cold. And to see a woman that size haul in all those buckets from the well was a spectacle! Now if she can make a half decent soup and keep this place clean she’ll be the perfect hand maid!” He stepped out of the tub and quickly went for a towel.

“I wonder where she comes from?” 

Daniel’s musings were cut short. From beyond the door of his bathroom he could hear someone moving about.

“What’s that girl up too now? She certainly can’t be done with dinner already.” He quickly dressed. Stepping out into his chambers he was met with a familiar greeting, from an old friend. 

“Ah! There he is! Our Brave captain and Minister of Defense. Sir Daniel Fortesque!” 

Canny Tim was lanky himself but with no apparent muscle to speak of. Not quite as tall as Dan, but still fairly tall. He thought himself to be quite the humorous kinda fellow and a self-proclaimed ladies’ man (just as long as you didn’t ask the ladies).

“Tim, what are you doing here?” Dan asked. “I’m not really in the mood for any tavern hopping tonight.”

“Well, that’s a first for you Dan! Not that we would. You see the moon sky tonight?” Tim pointed out. Dan turned to one of the windows of his tower. Hanging in the black of the night sky, was a full moon. 

“My, it’s that time of the month already? Well certainly no taverns tonight.” Dan shook his head.

“Which is part of the reason I’m here. I was afraid I might not be able to make it back to my home before it started its hunt. So, I figured I’d be more than welcome at my dear friend Dan’s to wait out this troublesome night.” Tim finished.

“Uh-huh.” Dan said suspiciously. “And I suppose you’ll also help yourself to my wine and beer while you’re here.”

“Well, only since you offered. The other reason I’m here is that I heard our great and generous king bestowed upon you some sort of gift?”

“Ears to ground as always, Tim. Yes, I did receive a hand maiden from the king today. I am actually amazed you didn’t encounter her when you let yourself into my tower. She’s down stairs preparing dinner. Since you’re going to be staying over tonight, I should go and alert her to make a little more stew.”

“A hand maiden!? The king gave you one of his imported hand maidens as a gift? Wow, Dan. You certainly have come up in the world.”

“I guess I really have…” Daniel ran his hand through his hair. He hadn’t really thought about the value of his gift.

“Where is she from huh, Dan? Is she pretty? Have you gotten to use any of her special training yet?” Tim said nudging his caption.

“Ugh.” He sighed. “Of course not.” 

Dan started to move to the door that lead to the stairs, ignoring Tim’s questions. Tim followed behind him still proding. Dan grabbed a torch from off of the tower wall. The last thing he needed to do was fall in this darkness.

“Alright, what you do with your hand maid is your business. But at least tell me her name.” Tim begged.

Daniel sighed once more.

“Before I tell you. I don’t want to hear a word out of you about it, Tim. Not a single implication. And that is an order.”

“I’ll try my best to hold my tongue, Sir.” 

And really that’s all Dan could ask for at this point.

“Her name is… Delilah.” Dan waited for whatever little quip Tim needed to get out of system. 

“My… I would’ve preferred Jezebel, personally. Good lord, be happy your name isn’t Samson.”

“Are you quite done with your biblical humor? Because I am.” As they came to the base of the tower, a wonderful aroma wafted through the air.  
Spices and seasons saturated the air at the bottom of the tower, along with the smell of cooked beef. They could see the faint glimmer of light as reached the end of the stairs.

“Dan, it smells like you’ve landed yourself a Persian girl. Why didn’t you tell me? Maybe we can get her to that belly dance they all like to do.”

“Tim she’s not Persian, and I’m pretty sure if you ask her to do a belly dance she’ll kill you. Literally kill you. But if you are so keen, on figuring out who Delilah is, I was planning on getting to know her better over this dinner. I hope she hasn’t finished cooking already. If she did I hope she made enough.”

Dan walked through the door entering the dining hall. It was all a glow with torches. The Dining hall along with the cellar under were the two largest chambers in Dan’s little castle. It served not only as place to meet for meals, but also as a hub of sorts. The dining hall was lined with stone arches that all had doors through them. Those doors lead to the many spare chambers Daniel had. A circular table was set in the middle of the hall. Three steaming bowls of stew sat cooling, each with its own place setting. Not too far from the table on of Dan’s barrels of wine or beer sat upright.

“Wow, Dan this place looks more festive than any tavern or bar we’ve got in Gallowmere.” Tim pointed out.

“She does good work.” Dan said impressed. The two men then heard a rumbling noise from behind them.

“Pardon me!” a voice warned a little too late. 

Delilah was speeding up the tower stairs from the cellar rolling another barrel. She was coming so fast, Daniel and Tim had to jump out of the way. Delilah rolled her barrel right beside the other barrel she’d brought up to the hall, stopped a moment to catch her breath, then with great skill, tilted the barrel right side up. It landed on its bottom with a very weighted thump.

“Whew!” Delilah said dusting her hands. 

She wiped to sweat off of her brow and did her best to fight the urge to rip off the bonnet tied tightly around her hair and head. She felt a bit over heated in her hand maid outfit. The dress was much longer than she’d been used to wearing. And the top certainly didn’t allow for a lot of dynamic sort of movement. 

During her making of dinner she fought with the outfit as it tangled up her movements. Often she was tugging, pulling even scratching at the seams of this awful piece. It took every bit of will power not to rip that outfit to shreds. But as she was now back in Sir Daniel’s presence, she made an effort not to look so uncomfortable.

“Hello, Sir Dan. I was just about to come for you. Please take a seat, while I finish preparations.” She said. 

“Of course. Thank you Delilah.” Daniel said this time bowing to her. Delilah let a small smile appear briefly on her face. Before rushing off to finish whatever she needed to finish.

Dan waited till he was sure she was out earshot before speaking again to Tim.

“Well Tim, what do you think of Delilah so far?” 

Tim was unresponsive.

“Tim? What’s-“

“She… is… wasted on you!?” Tim exclaimed with outrage. Dan tried to hide his smirk, which was impossible given his dental deformity. That bucked tooth grin was hard to ignore.

“Come on, now Tim. Let’s sit for dinner. Try not to let your tongue hang out of your head the whole time.” 

The two men took their seat at the table waiting for the third member of their dinner. The stew in front of them was the finest smelling food they’d ever looked at. A brown broth stew with carrots, potatoes, and little bits of unidentifiable meat, floated around and tugged at their appetites.

Delilah came back just in time, carrying three silver goblets, a spigot, silverware, and a fresh loaf of bread balancing them all with great skill. 

First she placed the goblet at each setting, then the silverware, and lastly the bread. Then she took her seat, laying the spigot in the center of the table.

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted wine or beer, and I didn’t want to… interrupt anything else, so I just rolled both barrels up here.”

“That’s alright Delilah. Might I introduce my friend, Canny Tim. He’s one of the best marksmen in all of Gallowmere.”  
She shifted her un nerving gaze in Tim’s direction and he felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if he’d locked eyes with a gorgon. 

“Truly a pleasure to make your aquatince Miss.” 

“Ah yes, the crossbow wielding trespasser. Sir Tim, I advise the next time you decide to stop by, you announce yourself. I nearly threw a knife into your back because I thought you were an intruder.” She said flatly.

“Well! I am really glad you didn’t!” Tim chuckled nervously.

“I’m sure you are…” She narrowed her eyes at Tim. In that moment Tim felt very small.

“Well, Miss Delilah, since we are going to be in each other’s company for extended periods of time, I wanted to take this opportunity to get to know you better and vice versa. Is that alright?” Dan offered. 

Delilah’s concentration on Tim was broken as turned to pay attention to Sir Dan. She was a bit taken aback. She didn’t think Sir Dan would want to know too much about the woman who was to just “cook his meals” and “clean up when he’s away”.

“Yes, that’s alright.” She nodded.

“So… knife throwing! That’s a very interesting talent. Did you learn it in the king’s harem?”

“Oh, no no. I learned how to throw knives and daggers when I was a little girl. It’s one of the first skills girls in our tribe have to master.” 

Delilah picked up her spoon and began to shovel some stew.

“What kind of barbaric tribe teaches girls how to throw knives?” Tim asked.

“An Amazonian tribe.” She responed just before putting the spoon in her mouth.

“An Amazonian… You’re an Amazon!? As in ‘legendary warrior tribe’ Amazons?” Sir Dan asked flabbergasted. 

She nodded. Still chewing her food.

“Man alive! My Granny told me stories about Amazons I had no idea they were still alive.” Sir Dan said.

“I thought Amazons were supposed be you know…” Tim started.

“No I don’t.” Delilah finished.

“Um… taller, bigger, more scantily clad …” Tim mumbled. While Delilah was just out of earshot for that last part, Sir Daniel heard it perfectly. He gave Tim a firm kick under the table.

“So, how did a masterful warrior like you end up on this sleepy little isle?” Sir Dan asked.

“Well, in my tribe after you master basic fighting and hunting, girls are given the option to travel to the rest of the world, to learn other fighting styles and to teach others our ways. However descendants of the warrior queen don’t exactly have the option. It’s more of a forced thing… So when I was ten, I was sent off to Cairo and from there, Greece, Rome, India, even China. I learned all sorts of fighting styles, alchemy, a little bit of magic… did a lot of reading as well. But anyway, after you’re done learning all that, you’re supposed to serve under a monarch or ruler for a while as their personal body guard for 7 years. And in all my travels I hadn’t gotten to see the British Isles yet. So I tried to find a monarch to serve somewhere in that area, and I did! But I think King Peregrin may have been confused about my skill set…” she trailed off.

“Good lord, woman… You’re more well-traveled than a spice merchant.” Tim said. Both men were wide eyed at her story.

“An amazon as my hand maiden. Now that’s just tops! But still Gallowmere? You won’t learn anymore about fighting here. Hell you probably have more to teach our soldiers.”

“Well, that’s not bad. I wouldn’t mind having a bit of a break from war…”

“So seven years serving under Peregrin… That must pay well.” Tim asked.

“Oh, yes he paid handsomely for my services, trice my weight in gold. But, seeing as he has given me to sir Daniel, it seems I’m spending the next…” She had to think for a moment.

“…10 months and 6 years with him. It’ll be nice living and serving under a fellow warrior. It’s much more unique opportunity. I’m sure we have much to learn from each other.”

“Hah, yes, I’m sure we do.” Sir Dan chuckled nervously. Now, Tim was the one hiding his smirk behind a napkin. 

“I am at your service, Sir Dan. So, if there’s any skill you want me to teach you, spear throwing, dagger fighting, pole dancing, anything at all! Just ask me.” 

“Oh, I am sure he’ll take you up on that offer madam.” Tim said. Delilah noticed his strange tone of when he said it.

“Right! Um, anything you’d like to ask me?” Daniel said trying to change the subject.

“How long have you been training, Sir Dan? You have an impressive physique despite your thin build.”

“Ah, a few years now… I was always around royalty and such and then one day the king decided to make a knight, the head knight and his minister of defense.” He said phrasing carefully.

“Wow. You must’ve shown some true skill.” She said impressed.

“Uh, yeah skill. How about we open that wine huh? It’d be a shame for you to have rolled that all the way up here and we not drink any.” Daniel said grabbing the spigot. 

“I’ll certainly have some!” Tim said grabbing his cup. Dan forced the spigot into the wine caste. 

“Of course you will, Tim.” Daniel said rolling his eyes. “What about you Delilah?”

“Ah, certainly, Sir Dan! I was actually hoping to try some beer, but we’ll save that for another dinner.”

“Three glasses of wine, coming right up!” 

“Shouldn’t I be the one fetching the wine, Sir Dan?” Delilah asked. Dan grabbed all three cups from the table.

“I am your hand maiden after all.”

“An amazon warrior of royalty being treated like a lowely hand maiden? I have no right to do such a thing! If anything you are more like my guest, who helps me clean up.” He announced. Dan filled all three cups brimming with red wine. Then gave the other two back to their respective drinkers.

“How kind of you Sir Daniel.” 

“Oy, I believe this deserves a toast!” Tim said lifting his glass.

“I’d be inclined to agree with you, Canny Tim!” Daniel did the same. “To our new guest Delilah.”

Delilah blushed.

“To, Delilah!” The two men cheered. They clicked their glassed together and proceed to down the glasses contents. Delilah soon followed afterward. 

Delilah had drank wine before. Living in Italy wine was their water. It came in all sorts of varieties. But the wine here in Gallowmere was much stronger than any she’d ever had. It made her hair stand on ends, and warmed her from within. The blush in her cheeks didn’t retreat this time.

“Oh my. I’ve never had wine like this!” 

“Ah, then lady you’ve never lived!” Tim responded.

As Delilah got to her last sip, the two men had completely finished their cups and were already getting ready to begin another round. They were quick to also grab her cup as well refilling all three. They ate more stew and drank more wine still chattering on. 

"So you're like amazonian royalty right?" Tim asked. "Does that mean you're like cousin to the queen or something?"

"Ah, no, no. Our people haven't had a queen since Imanzi Shongama."

"Imanzi Shongama?" Dan asked.

"Now that's a mouthful." Tim said

"Yes. She was a warrior queen, trained from birth in every sort of fighting style you could imagine! She kicked the men out of our village and only kept a few for landscaping purposes and other things... She bared many children all who'd grow up to be warriors as well. Unfortunately her life was brought an early end during the lawn mower's rebellion."

"The men rose up and killed her, huh? How sad." Dan said.

"Guess you could say she was cut down like a blade of grass." Tim quiped.

"Tim!" Sir Dan scolded.

"What it was just a joke." he chuckled.

"It's fine, it's fine!" Delilah said. "After all I'm sure when Jesus died, he was pretty _cross_. I mean they really _nailed_ him. Really _had him beat_ . Must've been a real _thorn_ in his side." 

"Oh, my. It seems she does biblical humor better than you, Canny Tim." Dan said sipping his wine.

Tim was left red in the face by Delilah's remarks. Delilah only smirked and arched an eyebrow in return.

"Huh, Delilah, you've done the impossible and shut him up. Doubt it'll last long. But cheers to that."

As dinner continued on Sir Dan noticed Delilah seemed to be fidgeting an awful lot. She wiggled around in her seat and always seemed to be pulling at her bonnet. She scratched often. Her face was red from overheating, but she said nothing of her discomfort. 

“Uh, not to pry Miss Delilah, but you seem uncomfortable.” Dan finally spoke.

“What?” She realized she’d been scratching in her clothes. Her sharp nails had even managed to make a hole in the cloth. 

“Ah sorry, this is not my normal attire. I am used to fewer clothes. And I believe the wine might have me a bit warmer.”

“Oh, really!?” Tim asked intrigued. Daniel shot him a look.

“Well how about you take off your…” Seeing the look Dan was giving him intensified Tim tried to redirect himself.

“…your bonnet.” He finished. Dan’s look softened a bit. 

“That actually isn’t a bad idea Tim. If you wish you can get rid of that stuffy old bonnet.”

“Oh, or you certain? I don’t want to offend.”

“Yes, It’s fine.” Dan said.

“We Insist!” Tim added.

“Ah, alright…” Delilah reached up under her neck and undid the knot of her bonnet. Slipping it off , revealed a thick mess of coarse dark hair, tightly packed to her head.

“Excuse me a moment.” She said. She began to vigorously rub her hands through her hair undoing the matted texture. It came undone with wild fury. Large, long, crinkled, and messy; her hair was transformed into a large mass.

“Ah! That is so much better!” She said shaking it out.

“Good lord.” Tim said wide eyed. "It's like a mane."

“And I thought I had messy hair.” Dan mumbled.


End file.
